Montgomery Bus Boycott Dbq Essay

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because of the buses’ dependence on the African American community, the protest’s copious amount of supporters, and the demonstrators’ nonviolent practices. Despite the fact that many of them were segregated, the buses in the South heavily relied on the African Americans for their source of income. A majority of the people who boarded the buses and paid the fares were blacks. Specifically, according to the president of the Women’s Political Council, Jo Ann Robinson, African Americans made up three-fourths of the riders (Document B). Therefore, removing this large portion of the revenue would greatly hinder the public transport. The Montgomery Bus Boycott did exactly that. The protest called for people to refuse riding in segregated buses to express the dependence that the bus companies had on
The protest united a vast group of African Americans who were passionate in combating racial discrimination and inequality. In fact, the demonstration was one of the first large scale ones, and as mentioned in a letter by Virginia Durr, it was “the first time that a whole [black] community [had] ever stuck together this way and for so long” (Document D). In addition, the larger assistance aided in lessening the consequences of not taking the buses. 42,000 African Americans did not use the public transport for two months but found alternatives and help from the drivers willing to carpool (Document C). What was vital in making the Montgomery Bus Boycott successful was it being a peaceful demonstration. From the start, the boycott urged participating African Americans to not resort to any act of violence. As said by Martin Luther King, Jr., “democracy [gave them the] right to [peacefully] protest” and even though they would inevitably face trials, they must endure and remain determined (Document